SMN News learnt that due to the inclement weather conditions the plane could not land. While in the air over St. Maarten, lightening struck the aircraft which forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Raizet Guadeloupe. Preliminary reports state that no one was injured in the incident.
The aircraft is now on its way to Curacao after the technical staff checked to see if there were any possible damages. KLM flight 785 is expected to land in Curacao at 8pm then it will depart Curacao for Amsterdam at 9:30pm Tuesday night. Flight 785 has more than 8 hours delay. The 72 passengers destined for St. Maarten will be transported here by a chartered flight. The 108 passengers that were scheduled to leave St. Maarten on Tuesday afternoon will be flown out by a chartered flight on either DAE or Insel Air to Shiphol Airport in Amsterdam.